NFL

8 Big-Name Players You Shouldn't Trust in Week 14

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Ben Roethlisberger, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers

I will be one of the first people to remind you to start your studs, but there are some weeks where the nail-biting nervousness that accompanies a star player's match-up is easily avoidable just by benching them. Ben Roethlisberger has just such a match-up this week, as he and his Pittsburgh Steelers take on their AFC North rival Cincinnati Bengals.

Ben has so many weapons at his dispersal that he may not need to put the team on his back the way he did in Week 13 against the New Orleans Saints; the offense may simply rely on running back Le'Veon Bell to carry the load and smashmouth their way to victory. Even if they ask Roethlisberger to shoulder the responsibility, he injured his hand in last week's game and there are multiple conflicting reports about a possible broken bone in his throwing hand. That's not ideal for your signal-caller in the fantasy playoffs.

Also consider the prowess of the Cincinnati Bengals' defense, who have allowed opposing fantasy quarterbacks double-digit games just four times in the past six weeks. Their schedule hasn't been the most rigorous in that span but consider that they also held Andrew Luck to just 19 points in their Week 7 meeting with Indianapolis.

In fact, the Bengals air defense ranks sixth in the league in our Adjusted Defensive Passing Net Expected Points (NEP) metric, marking them as one of the top defenders of the pass in the league. They also are the fourth-worst rushing defense by Adjusted Defensive Rush NEP. That's how you beat this team. Roethlisberger will likely be a complementary piece on Sunday, so even I benched him for Eli Manning in one league.